


As Long As It's You

by charity_hope



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Although the boys aren't in a band, And I'd probably misuse the tags thing, And also a lot of misunderstanding, And his family is very powerful, Harry is a bit arsehole-ish at times?, Harry is very very rich, I don't care though, In fact they're all uni students, It pains me to write Harry as an arsehole though, Little Mix is famous in this one, Lots and lots of misunderstanding, M/M, One night stand turns enemy turns partner in crime turns lover, Smut, There will be quite a lot of pining, With Liam is actually Harry's bodyguard/best friend, larry stylinson - Freeform, maybe? - Freeform, slight niam
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-30
Updated: 2015-02-08
Packaged: 2018-02-06 21:37:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1873368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charity_hope/pseuds/charity_hope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry is the rich boy with a reputation.</p><p>Louis is the poor college student with pride.</p><p>Liam and Niall are oblivious to everything.</p><p>And Zayn just wants to help his friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy reading!

When Louis agreed to go to the party with Zayn, he was not looking for a hook up or anything. He just wanted to go out doing something other than studying or working. He had just arrived with Zayn about an ago, although by now, he had lost his best mate somewhere in the party. He was probably off with some random girl somewhere and Louis was not worried.

 

He stood by himself, leaning against the wall with a bottle of beer in his hand. He looked around the room, bobbing his head up and down in time with the beat of the music. The place was almost packed with people and whoever that threw this party must be crazy rich to be able to afford such a massive place. It was a penthouse with a balcony that overlooked the beautiful scenery of the city. Louis bit his lower lip and let himself felt a little bit envious towards the owner of the gorgeous lot. He probably had to work his entire life and still wouldn’t be able to afford to live in this part of London, let alone own this place.

 

As he was deep in thought, he was surprised when he felt as if someone was staring at him. He lifted his head and caught a sight of a boy with curly hair staring at him from across the room. He returned the stare and smirked when the boy smiled at him. Louis motioned for the boy to come to him with a slight nod and he couldn’t stop staring as he made his way closer.

 

“Are you here with someone?” the boy asked, his voice was deep and he spoke in this slow drawl that just pulled Louis in. He closed his lips around the mouth of his beer bottle and hollowed his cheeks in a sucking motion as he tipped the bottle back slightly. He swallowed the liquid, grimacing a bit and licked his lips as he let the bottle go with a pop of his mouth. Louis watched the unsubtle innuendo and smirked, stepping closer and not-so-subtly rested his hand on his forearm. The other boy smirked back, his green eyes twinkling in delight.

 

He was beautiful, Louis decided, with his brown, curly hair, bright green eyes and a set of dimples. He would be lucky if he were able to bring this boy to bed with him tonight, there’s no doubt about that. “With my friend Zayn. But he’d ditched me now,” Louis replied, staring blatantly at his mouth as he’d once again licked his lips, his pink tongue darting out.

 

“You friend with Zayn?” Louis just nodded. “Why haven’t I seen you before?” The boy looked genuinely curious and Louis was not surprised that he knew Zayn. It seemed like Zayn knew everyone and everyone knew him. Louis nodded, brushing his fringe from his forehead and cocked his hips slightly to the side.

 

“I don’t go out much,” he replied. He didn’t add that he’s already busy enough with his two part-time jobs and he also had to keep up with classes so he wouldn’t lose his scholarship. This was one of the rare moments where he actually agreed to go out because he was stressing out over the approaching deadline for his assignment that he still hadn’t started writing yet. Curly nodded at his words. Yes, Louis had nicknamed him. It’s not the most original nickname but it just fit flawlessly.

 

“Well, wanna dance?” he asked, gesturing towards the centre of the room that had been turned into a make-shift dance floor. Louis smirked, not missing the look Curly shot him and he was down with it. He wanted to distract himself from his life for a moment and he had this fit lad in front of him so he wasn’t going to say no. It was weird because Louis didn’t do this kind of thing. He didn’t do random hook-ups at party. But it’s like Curly had this magnetic force on him that just pulled Louis in. And Louis felt as if there’s a chemistry between the two of them.

 

He just let Curly pulled his hand and dragged him towards the throngs of body on the dance floor. The music was something Louis had never heard before but it had a powerful bass sound and it thrummed through Louis’ body, making him feel like his heart was thumping along the music. He had only a bottle of beer since he arrived so he was nowhere near drunk but there was this nice hum in his body as he moved along the music, letting Curly put his hands on his waist and they danced close to each other. Louis turned around, pressing his back close to Curly’s chest and moved his hips in what he hoped was a seductive move. It must’ve worked because Curly’s grip on his waist tightened and pulled him closer. Louis gasped when he felt something unmistakably hard poking his backside and grinded his arse against it just to make sure. If Curly’s answering low moan was any indicator, Louis was sure he was in for a treat tonight.

 

“Wanna go somewhere… quieter?” Curly breathed against Louis ear and Louis had never agreed to something so fast in his twenty-one year of life. Once again Louis let Curly took his hand and pulled him away. They made their way through the mass of bodies in the living room towards the corridor leading to a row of rooms. Curly led Louis into one of the rooms. As soon as Curly shut the door, the loud noise from the party lulled down into muted hum in the background. Louis almost did a double take when he looked at the room. It was spacious with a big king-sized bed in the middle. There was also a set of sofa complete with TV set with a home theatre system and gaming system at the corner of the room and a balcony overlooking the pool. There was an en suite bathroom attached to this room and a huge walk-in closet. The walls were decorated with intricate paintings that Louis would not ever dare to fathom but even through his limited knowledge in art, he knew they were expensive. They looked like something Zayn would gush about to anyone who’d listen.

 

Louis was about to ask Curly to maybe go into another room because he really didn’t want to have to pay if he happened to break anything. Everything in the room screamed wealth and money and it’s everything Louis didn’t have. Even the duvet and the bed cover looked so soft and made of materials that Louis would never even dream of touching before. He however was cut out of his thoughts when Curly crowded him up against the wall and brought his face closer to Louis’.

 

“Hey,” Curly drawled out, his voice a little huskier than before and Louis could feel his breath hitting his face.

 

“Hey back to you,” he replied cheekily, snaking his arms up and wrapped them around Curly’s neck and pulled him in closer. They were pressed closed from hips to toe and Louis could feel that Curly was halfway there already and he was the same. When Curly leaned in and planted his lips on the spot right under his right ear, Louis let out a breathy moan and grinded his hips up against Curly’s. Curly brought one of his hands between their bodies and began to cup Louis through his trousers.

 

Louis wasn’t the one night stand type of lad and this was moving too fast than he was used to but it’s like he couldn’t stop himself. His body was already reacting as his hips thrust up against Curly’s palm and his blood rapidly flowed south, his cock hardening as the seconds ticked by. Curly popped the button of Louis’ trousers and pulled the zipper down. Louis’ breath came out ragged and shaky as he latched his lips onto Curly’s neck and began nipping lightly. It was hard enough to make Curly moan but wasn’t enough to leave marks.

 

“Wait…” Curly said, stopping suddenly and pulled back. Louis blinked at Curly, his chest moving up and down rapidly and he knew he must’ve looked totally debauched. Curly was a sight to see with red, plump lips that looked swollen and a flush coming up his neck. Louis wanted to see if the rest of his body flushed too.

 

“What’s wrong?” Louis asked. Please don’t back out now, he thought miserably. He couldn’t remember when the last time he’d gotten laid was. Curly made his way towards one of the tables and pulled the drawer open. Louis just watched curiously, standing awkwardly against the wall with his jeans undone and a raging hard-on. Curly took out an A4 sized envelope from inside the drawer before shutting it again.

 

He made his way towards Louis with a smirk on his face and handed Louis the envelope. Louis frowned and took it. Curly just waited silently as Louis opened the envelope and took out several papers that were clipped together. He read over what’s written on the paper and felt his blood boil suddenly. “What’s this?” he asked, waving the papers in front of Curly’s face. Curly however seemed unfazed by it.

 

“A contract,” he replied simply, as he walked casually towards the bed and sat on the mattress. Louis shot him a glare when he sensed that Curly wouldn’t elaborate more on it.

 

“What for?”

 

“Well, I have to make sure that you won’t go around spreading words about tonight to anyone. So I need you to sign that contract before we continue.”

  
“What?” Louis probably should response more than just asking questions after questions but it seemed like he was tongue-tied. He took a look again at the contract. According to the contract, he had to agree that no one should know about what they’re about to do and in return for his silence, he’d be paid with a sum of money. “I’m not a prostitute, you know,” Louis said finally. Curly nodded but still seemed unaffected and it boiled Louis even more.

 

“I know. But we’d never know. You get good sex and money out of this. I don’t see anything wrong with this arrangement.” Curly shrugged and leaned back, bracing his upper body with his arms. Louis tried to ignore the way Curly’s arms looked so delicious bulging like that and tore the papers in half and then into another half before throwing the shredded papers that it scattered all over the floor. Curly’s eyes widened at Louis’ action as he sat up straighter.

 

“I’m not sure what sick game you’re playing at here. But I don’t appreciate being treated like an object. You can take your money and I bet I can get a better lay anyway.” With that said, Louis zipped his trousers back up and did the button before turning away to leave. Curly stood up from the bed, his face etched into a scowl.

 

“Hey! You can’t just leave!” Curly exclaimed. Louis laughed bitterly, clenching his fists tightly for a few seconds.

 

“I can and I am,” he said with finality and walked out through the door. For dramatic effect, he slammed the door shut but it was useless anyway because it was drowned by the sound of the music from the party. He was still at least half-hard but the turn of event had killed any mood he had to have fun. So, texting Zayn that he’s going to take a cab back to his dorm, he picked his denim jacket from the jacket hanger near the entrance and got out of the party.

 

Later that night, as Louis laid his head down on his own pillow, on his own bed, in his own dorm room, alone on his bed with Niall snoring in the other bed, he tried to will the image of green eyes, curly hair and dimples away from his mind.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god! I'm so sorry it took me so long to update. *facepalm*
> 
> I hope this chapter makes up for it.

The wind blew into the room from the opened window, causing the curtain to flap uselessly on its railing. It was a nice day but Louis wasn’t feeling it. He had drunk a cup of coffee – the instant type since he couldn’t really afford the expensive grinded coffee. He’d also finished showering and dressed way before Niall even woke up.  
  
He had woken up early this morning, earlier than usual and he was glad he didn’t have too much to drink last night, he thought as he stared at the blank Document page on his laptop. At least he could use his morning off to start on his assignment. However, an hour after he started opening his book and turning on his laptop, Louis had not made any progress at all.  
  
He let out an audible sigh and tapped his fingers on his laptop. His textbooks were opened and scattered all across his study desk but he wasn’t even looking at any of them. His thoughts were somewhere else and he couldn’t concentrate on the task in front of him.  
  
“What’s up with you, man?” Niall asked as he walked out from their shared bathroom. The blonde walked towards his own study desk and sat on the swivel chair, facing Louis. “You’d been staring at that blank screen an hour before I entered the shower. And you’re still staring at it now.”  
  
Louis didn’t say anything. He just snapped his laptop shut and rubbed his own face in frustration. Niall had a smirk playing on his lips, his brain already catching up on why Louis was acting that way.  
  
“You’re still thinking about last night?” Niall asked, his tone was less concern this time. It wasn’t anything harmful so he wasn’t worried. Louis had told Niall all about his encounter with Curly the night before and Niall had laughed at him, saying,  _“I thought shit like that only happens in movies.”_  Louis felt like he should write off Niall from the list of his most favourite person in the world.  
  
At Niall’s words, Louis let out another sigh, placing his elbow on the table and resting his chin in his palm.  
  
The thing was, Louis didn’t seem to be able to let the image of Curly out of his mind. He tried reminding himself that Curly was an arse-wipe and there was no use wasting time thinking about him. But then, he was also reminded by the brief touch they shared and he instantly felt himself flush and he groaned loudly.  
  
“Man, if your mind’s going down the gutter, please do so when I’m not around,” Niall said dryly, waving his hand in front of his own face that was contorted in fake disgust. Louis snorted and rolled his eyes.  
  
“And this comes from someone who’s still in his towel. Get dressed, Horan!” Louis threw a pen towards Niall’s direction. It bounced from his bare chest and fell onto the floor. Niall just eyed it, unimpressed and got up to make his way towards his dresser.  
  
Louis turned back around and picked at one of his book. With one last sigh, he pushed the thoughts of Curly to the farthest corner of his mind and began to read the topic he was supposed to write an essay on. With his right hand, Louis highlighted the key points in the book and occasionally, he would write small notes on the space next to the paragraph.  
  
The day was spent just like that; Louis focusing on his assignment meanwhile Niall had went out, probably on one of his many dates. After the next few hours, a page on Louis’ notebook was filled with short notes and little mind maps that would help him with his essay.  
  
He was feeling particularly productive despite the slow start he had that morning. He was about to happily start typing the first draft of his essay when someone knocked on the door. He grunted in annoyance and contemplated on staying quiet and pretending that he wasn’t in when the person knocked again.  
  
“Lou, I know you’re inside, open up.” He heard Zayn’s voice and rolled his eyes as he put down his pen and walked bare-footed towards the door.  
  
He opened the door and gave Zayn an irritated look which Zayn just dismissed with a wave of his hand as he entered the room, pushing Louis aside. Zayn didn’t say anything as he took a seat on Louis bed and stared at Louis with an unreadable expression.  
  
After shutting the door, Louis sat back on his chair, waiting for Zayn to speak up. Zayn had never come to his room uninvited unless he had something really important that he had to say. He was still giving Louis that disconcerting look and Louis was starting to feel uneasy.  
  
“What?” he finally snapped, eyes narrowing towards Zayn who still looked as cool as ever. Louis sometimes wondered if maybe Zayn was some sort of a living marble statue and that was why his expression was permanently etched into that cool, aloof look. Those cheekbones definitely looked like they were sculptured by a very talented artisan.  
  
Zayn didn’t say anything at first, letting Louis wait impatiently. He took out a packet of cigarettes from his leather jacket and pulled one out, putting the stick between his pouty lips. If Zayn was someone else, Louis would probably find Zayn undeniably sexy with the cigarette dangling between his red lip, his hair in a perfect quiff and his golden tan skin glowing in the sunlight. As it was, Louis had known Zayn for years and any possibility of sexual attraction to form between the two of them had long gone.  
  
Zayn was just another person with two legs in Louis’ eyes now, the same way Louis looked at Niall.  
  
Zayn lit up his cigarette and took a drag before exhaling, letting the cloud of smoke flowing out from between his lips.  
  
“Did you hook up with Harry last night?” Zayn asked finally, his eyes bore straight into Louis.  
  
“Harry who?” Louis shot Zayn a questioning look, frowning slightly. Zayn took another drag before continuing.  
  
“Harry. Curly haired. Green eyes. Tall as fuck. Ring a bell?”  
  
At the mention of curly hair and green eyes, Louis’ attention perked up as he pulled his chair closer towards Zayn, his curiosity rising. So his name was Harry. It was such a simple name for someone who looked  _that_  dashing, Louis thought to himself. He then shook himself out from that train of thought as he recalled how much of a dick Harry was.  
  
“Why? What’s with him?”  
  
Zayn sighed and flicked his cigarette slightly that the ashes dropped onto the carpeted floor. Louis wanted to point that out but then he realised that he didn’t really care. Niall was the one that did the cleaning anyway.  
  
“So, it’s really you,” Zayn muttered, rolling his eyes and raked his fingers through his hair. “He kept talking about this bloke with really nice bum and soft hair. Said that it’s my friend. I really wished it wasn’t you.” Louis felt himself blush at Zayn’s words and not-so-subtly peered at his own backside, eyeing said ‘nice bum’ and he had to admit, he did have nice bum. A small, smug smile curled up from his lips. “Stop checking yourself out, good God!” Zayn exclaimed, looking mortified. Well, at least he could pull out an expression from that face. Louis thought.  
  
“Sorry,” Louis said, chuckling slightly. “Anyway, we didn’t really hook up.” Louis frowned at the memory. Each time he thought about the encounter, he felt himself filled with anger and humiliation. How dare Curly – Harry – treated him like he was some sort of prostitute? “He tried to pay me, Zayn,” Louis continued at Zayn’s raised eyebrows.  
  
“What?”  
  
“Yes. He gave me a contract and told me to keep my mouth shut and he’d pay me. As if I would sleep with someone for money. Pfft…” Louis rolled his eyes at the thought and crossed his arms in front of his chest.  
  
Zayn exhaled loudly and shook his head. “Don’t… don’t get involved with him unless you’re really serious,” Zayn said after a few moments of silence. This time, it was Louis’ turn to raise his eyebrows towards the younger man. “He’s my friend and I know him well enough. It won’t be wise to keep associating with him in that way.”  
  
Louis let out a snort.  
  
“Oh, believe me, I  _don’t_  want to be associating with someone like him in  _any_  way. Nuh-uh,” Louis replied firmly. Zayn looked at him with intense eyes, making Louis squirm a bit in his seat before shrugging.  
  
“Good,” was all Zayn said.  
  
Louis wondered what had just happened and he couldn’t shake the feeling that this was not the end of it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish I were sorry for making Harry a big meany in this chapter. But I really don't.
> 
> I feel really bad for Louis, though.
> 
> Enjoy reading!

At 5 pm, the interior of  _Anne’s_  was empty and quiet. The staffs were in the kitchen, preparing everything before the opening time at 7. The head chef, Zachary was barking up instructions towards the kitchen staff while the waiters and waitresses were getting ready to go to the front.  
  
Louis entered through the back door hurriedly, punching his attendance on the little slot machine next to the door and went straight towards his locker in the workers’ lounge. Quickly, he changed into his waiter uniform, a white button up shirt, a pair of black slacks and a stupid bow tie. He hated that bow tie but the job had flexible hours and had a decent salary so he could put up with it. He however had adamantly refused to wear the black, shiny formal shoes that cost more than his weekly pay check and put on his favourite pair of ratty black Vans.  
  
Once he was ready, he went out towards the main area of the restaurant and helped to take down the chairs that were placed on the table during closing time. Louis went over towards the pretty brunette that had her hair done in a neat bun on top of her head and helped her to lower the chair to the floor.  
  
“Thanks,” she said, smiling sweetly, adjusting her own uniform; crispy white shirt, black, knee-length pencil skirt and a pair of black Mary Jane heels. They looked around and notices that everything was in order and they just had to wait for the opening time and started to serve the customers. “Are you okay, Lou? You look tired,” the girl observed, watching Louis with a concern expression.  
  
Louis touched his own face and shook his head. “I’m good. No worries, El,’ he replied, trying to shrug it off. Eleanor didn’t look convinced though as she touched Louis’ arm gently and Louis was painfully reminded how much he missed his sisters right now. Eleanor was a close substitute though. She was not his sister, but close enough.  
  
“Take care of yourself, alright?” she said, giving Louis another one of her sweet smile and walked away.  
  
Louis admitted that he had been working extra hard this past couple of weeks. He worked extra shifts at the bookstore and barely gotten any sleep before he had to go to his classes. Several nights a week, he had his shift at  _Anne’s_  and it was a surprise that he was still standing, Niall had pointed out one day when Louis looked particularly worn out.  
  
His respond had been the same one as he’d given Eleanor.  _“I’m good._  And Niall knew better than to pester him since he was very familiar with Louis’ stubbornness. But that didn’t stop him from doing little things to show that he cared such as helping Louis to organise his books for classes so he wouldn’t have to worry about leaving anything or making sure that Louis would eat at least a piece of bread and drink a cup of tea every morning so he wouldn’t have to start his day on an empty stomach.  
  
Louis really loved the blonde Irish boy.  
  
Snapping himself out of his thoughts, he looked at the battered watch on his wrist and inhaled deeply, noticing that it was five minutes before opening time. He steeled himself and got ready when Eleanor flipped the sign at the door from  _Close_  to  _Open_.  
  
-  
  
Louis had heard that sometimes fate just loved to play tricks on people. Right now, however, he was sure that the universe just wanted to see him suffer as he made his way towards the secluded area reserved for the VIPs and important patrons. In the one month Louis had been working there, this was the first time he was assigned to serve one of the tables at the VIP section.  
  
At first, he was excited since he heard from Eleanor, the VIP customers were usually very generous with their tips and he had high hopes that maybe, this year, he could buy something special for his sisters for Christmas instead of just another ugly, cheap sweaters that he got at the clearance sale.  
  
However, his initial excitement immediately died out when he saw who was sitting at that table.  
  
It was Curly or Harry, as Zayn called him.  
  
Louis had almost forgotten about the encounter in these two weeks but now, faced with that impossibly cherubic face, Louis wanted to flee. But he held the urge with the thought that he had to be professional and never let his personal feelings affect his work.  
  
When he arrived, Harry was chatting and laughing with his company, a very attractive boy with brown eyes and kind smile. _Wait ‘till he takes out one of his contracts. See if you can smile again, pretty boy,_  Louis thought meanly, watching Harry with narrowed eyes but kept his face smiling as a façade.  
  
“So may I have your order now?” Louis asked, trying to be as polite as possible.  
  
Harry stopped talking and looked up at Louis. Louis could see the moment recognition flickered in Harry’s eyes when he eyed Louis up and down. He raised his eyebrows at Louis but the boy stood his ground and stared back challengingly.  
  
“You must be new,” Harry said, turning away from Louis and watched his companion that sat in front of him. Louis just stared at him in confusion and waited with thinning patience but Harry didn’t say anything more.  
  
After a while, the other boy cleared his throat, turning Louis’ attention towards him and gave Louis a kind, warm smile. Louis had the urge to warn the bloke to walk away before the fucking _contract_  made its appearance but then he decided that it wasn’t his business anyway so he just stayed quiet.  
  
“Tell Zachary to prepare Mr. Styles’ usual order,” he said, watching Harry for a moment before looking back at Louis. “And grilled salmon for me,” he said, handing Louis the menu he was holding.  
  
The bloke was nice and polite and kind so Louis returned his smile with a genuine one, taking the menus and walked away towards the kitchen to deliver the order. Before he left though, Louis didn’t miss the slightly mischievous look lighting Harry’s eyes and the way the other boy gave a disapproving look towards the curly haired boy.  
  
Louis tried not to read too much into it and just wanted to do his job smoothly.  
  
-  
  
Louis couldn’t do his job smoothly, not when Harry was his customer.  
  
He couldn’t keep count how many times he had to go back and forth from their table and the kitchen as Harry kept returning his food with different complaints, each more ridiculous than before. The only thing that kept Louis from strangling the boy so that the smug smirk would leave his face was his firm belief that  _‘a customer is always right’_. So Louis gritted his teeth and for the umpteenth time, brought the plate of food with the name Louis couldn’t even pronounce back into the kitchen.  
  
“Again, Lou? What now?” Zachary asked, bewilderment was obvious in his face. Louis sighed exasperatedly and raised his shoulders.  
  
“I don’t know. Said it’s too bland.” Louis made a face as he said that and put the plate on the centre isle of the kitchen.  
  
“I don’t understand. He’s not usually this… particular,” Zachary mused, taking the plate, watching it questioningly. “It’s alright. I’ll fix it.” He gave Louis a reassuring smile in which the younger boy returned with a tired one.  
  
All the walking back and forth had beginning to take its toll on Louis’ legs and he felt like his knees could give out any time now. His head also had started to feel quite heavy due to his lack of sleep but he tried to push the feeling away and took a deep breath to steady himself.  
  
After Zachary was done altering the food – again - Louis brought it back out towards Harry’s table and hoped that he would be satisfied this time.  
  
“But it’s fun, Li,” Louis heard Harry said as he reached the table and put the plate carefully in front of Harry. Harry stopped talking at his arrival and his companion, -which Louis learned that his name was Liam, thanks to the conversation he overheard whilst serving them – shook his head at Harry, looking quite displeased over something.  
  
Louis waited patiently as Harry slowly took his fork and stabbed on the cut vegetable in the plate before putting it into his mouth, chewing lightly. The seconds ticked by felt like hours as Louis waited and waited. After a while, Harry dropped his fork and wiped the corner of his lips with the napkin.  
  
“I want to see the manager,” Harry said, his tone cool as he looked at Louis with an expression that Louis could only describe as pure malice.  
  
“But…” Louis started to protest but Harry just held up his palm, stopping him.  
  
“Get me Paul.”  
  
“Harry, I don’t think that’s necessary,” Liam interjected, frowning towards Harry. The boy however ignored him and watched Louis expectantly. Biting his lower lip, Louis just nodded curtly and turned away towards the manager’s office. He didn’t smile back as he walked pass Eleanor, making the brunette to frown worriedly.  
  
Louis got Paul and brought him towards the table, his heart hammering wildly in his chest all the while.  
  
“Mr. Styles, what can I help you with?” Paul asked, smiling politely towards Harry before shooting Louis an accusing look. It was as if it was Louis’ fault that he was called out. Louis was sure it wasn’t his fault, though. He didn’t do anything. Not even once he acted rude or unethical the whole time he was serving Harry.  
  
“I don’t want to see him in this restaurant anymore,” Harry said, jerking his head towards Louis’ direction.  
  
“What?”  
  
“Harry!”  
  
Louis asked at the same time Liam exclaimed Harry’s name. Louis could feel his eyes bulging in their sockets but Harry seemed indifferent as he took a sip of his wine. “Paul?”  
  
Paul looked at Louis apologetically and Louis started shaking his head, trying to convey to Paul,  _no, please don’t do this_. But Paul just looked down dejectedly and said curtly, “my office, Lou.”  
  
Louis had half a mind to jump on the table and stabbed Harry’s face with his stupid fork just to have that stupid smug smirk out of his ridiculous dimpled face. However, Louis just kept the thought to himself and in silence, he followed Paul towards his office.  
  
-  
  
“You can’t do this to me, Paul!” Louis said, getting quite hysterical. His hands were flailing about as he tried to take everything in.  
  
How did things end up this way?  
  
“I’m sorry, Louis. I have no other choice. Mr. Styles practically owns this entire franchise. I can’t…” Paul stopped there, looking very apologetic and Louis immediately sympathised with him. He knew if Paul could have his way, he wouldn’t let Louis go. Louis was one of the most hardworking workers he ever had. But if he didn’t fire Louis, his own position would be compromised. “I’m sorry,” he said again as Louis shook his head.  
  
“You know what, Paul? It’s fine. I just… it’s fine,” he said, trying to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat.  
  
Paul opened the top drawer of his desk and took out an envelope, handing it to the boy. Louis accepted it and felt something pressing hard on his shoulders when he saw a few notes in it. “It’s your pay check for this week. I’m really sorry, Lou.”  
  
Once again, Louis shook his head, wiping his dry eyes and walked out of the office without saying anything. “Louis…” Eleanor whispered when Louis walked by her but he shook his head, having no energy left.  
  
He quietly went to the back and changed back into his normal clothes. His hands were shaking as he unbuttoned the shirt and he had to clench his teeth the whole time so his lips wouldn’t tremble. He cleared the locker and after one lingering look at the empty workers’ lounge, Louis started to walk out of the restaurant, using the back door.  
  
He hated Harry Styles, Louis decided, finally letting his shoulders drop as soon as he was out of the restaurant and away from the eyes of his ex-co-workers.  
  
He walked back towards his dorm, the cold night breeze biting at his skin but he ignored it. When he reached the door to the room he shared with Niall, Louis sighed and rested his hand on the door knob, suddenly feeling like the world was spinning around him, making his body to sway slightly. He blinked a few times when his vision started to get blurry and the next thing he knew, he was surrounded by darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the lovely comments I received on the previous chapters!
> 
> Please leave your feedback and enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing it!

The first thing that crossed Louis’ mind when he opened his eyes was white.  
  
White everywhere.  
  
The walls were white, the blinds covering the windows were white, the bed sheet was white; it was white everywhere. And Louis was confused for a moment.  
  
He blinked, trying to get used to his new surroundings, his nose scrunching up as he caught the unmistakable scent of antibiotics and disinfectants.  
  
Ew, hospital.  
  
Wait. Hospital? At that, Louis’ eyes opened fully as he sat up and took in his surrounding once again. There was no mistaken it. He was in a hospital, his body clad in ugly green hospital gown. There was an IV drip next to his bed and the tube went down to the back of his left hand.  
  
He tried to rake his mind, wanting to remember how he managed to end up in the hospital. But he couldn’t come up with anything. The last thing he remembered was walking home after getting fired.  
  
At the thought of what happened that night, Louis’ lips pressed into a thin line, something boiling deep inside him. He couldn’t believe that Harry would ever pull something like that to him. It was obvious that he was trying to get back to Louis for rejecting him and Louis found it utterly ridiculous.  
  
While he was still seething at the thought of Harry, the door to the room opened and entered Niall. He beamed wide when he saw that Louis was awake. “You’re awake!” Niall said, taking a seat on a chair next to Louis’ bed. “How are you feeling?”  
  
“Like shit,” Louis started to answer but frowned at the croak in his voice. His throat felt scratchy like sand paper.  
  
Niall helped him to pour a glass of water from the jug placed on the side table next to Louis’ bed and handed the glass to Louis which he gratefully accepted. He sipped on the water and the way the water flowed down his throat felt like heaven. After he was satisfied he put the glass on the table. “How come I’m here?” he asked Niall.  
  
The blonde Irish leaned back in his chair, watching Louis in contemplation. “I found you unconscious in front of our room last night,” Niall answered much to Louis’ surprise. “I’d told you to take care of your health, didn’t I?”  
  
Louis didn’t like to see the worried look that was etched on his best friend’s face. Niall very rarely frowned, the little sunshine that he was. So Louis hated the fact that he was the reason Niall’s face was pinched into such an expression.  
  
“Well, at least I’m still alive,” Louis replied, trying to make light of the situation. But he only got another scoff from Niall as the blonde reached over and smacked the back of his head lightly. “Hey!” He rubbed the back of his head, pouting at Niall but the blonde didn’t look the least bit guilty.  
  
“How can you joke about this? Do you realise how fucking worried I was? Imagine it was  _me_  you saw on the floor? How would  _you_  feel?” Niall ranted, poking his index finger on Louis’ chest repeatedly to get his point across. Louis wanted to point out that he was a sick patient and Niall had to be gentle with him, another joke to make the blonde smile. But even Louis knew when it was a bad time to joke around. Niall was properly upset and Louis didn’t want to make things worse.  
  
Louis casted his eyes down, rubbing at his sore chest after Niall had stopped with his mini attack. “Sorry,” he muttered quietly. Niall sighed, his face softened.  
  
“Doctor said you’re dehydrated and you passed out due to over-exertion and stress. I’d told you two jobs are too much for you to handle. You’re not a bionic human.”  
  
Louis was slightly amused how much of a nag Niall could be when he wanted to.  
  
“No worries. No more two jobs for me. I just got fired last night,” Louis said dryly, once again his anger started to rise at the thought of last night’s incident.  
  
At Niall’s inquiring look, Louis began to retell everything that had happened. As he was speaking he felt slowly, little by little something lifted off from his shoulders. Speaking to Niall always had this effect on him, made it easier for him to breathe because he knew that he had someone to fall back to.  
  
Louis had planned to quit his other job at the bookstore by the end of the month because it didn’t pay much and took too much of Louis’ time. He thought he could cover the expenses from the salary and the tips he got from working at the restaurant. But now, he had no choice but to work longer hours with minimum pay.  
  
Niall just listened to Louis story intently, occasionally shaking his head. By the end of Louis’ rant, Niall was obviously fuming, the tips of his ears were red, his nose flaring. It really wasn’t a look that suited him, Louis thought.  
  
“He’s such a fucking twat,” Niall commented, clenching his fists. “Who does he think he is? Acting all high and mighty like that. He probably should have someone shove a foot up his arse. That ought to be enough to teach him.” Louis chuckled slightly.  
  
“I appreciate your sentiment, man. I just hope that I won’t have to meet him again, ever,” Louis said, traces of laughter was still evident in his voice. He really did wish that he would never,  _ever_ have come face to face with Harry Styles again. Somehow, after meeting him, Louis’ life turned shitty.  
  
The knocking on the door stopped the two from their conversation. They both turned just in time to see the door opened and someone poked their head through the gap, looking around the room. Louis immediately recognised him as Harry’s dinner companion. The boy saw Louis and smiled warmly as he stepped into the room.  
  
Louis vaguely noticed Niall’s jaw dropped as he took in the appearance of the boy in front of them. The boy was carrying a fruit basket and placed it on the table at the foot of the bed. “Hey,” he greeted. “Louis, right?”  
  
“Why are you here?” Louis asked, the same time Niall said, “I’m Niall, hi. What’s your name?”  
  
 _Smooth, Niall,_  Louis thought with a roll of his eyes.  
  
“Liam. I’m Liam. Uh… I came here to apologise. For last night.”  
  
“It’s not your fault, though,” Louis stated, watching Liam intently, trying to read him. Liam rubbed the back of his neck and smiled sheepishly and Louis wondered why in the hell someone like him would associate with someone like Harry. He was painfully earnest and he seemed honest and kind.  
  
“Well, I somehow feel like it’s partly my responsibility since I couldn’t do anything to stop Harry,” Liam explained, pink tainted his cheeks. At the mention of Harry’s name, Niall’s eyes narrowed as he got up and stomped towards Liam. The bigger boy watched Niall, his eyes blinking.  
  
“You’re that twat’s friend?” Liam nodded. “Listen here. You tell him to stay away from Louis and that he’s lucky that I don’t know his face. God forbid he will lose his testicles if I ever meet him,” Niall warned, prodding at Liam’s chest just as he did to Louis’ earlier.  
  
Liam looked completely mortified by Niall and Louis just found this whole situation hilarious. He reached out and grabbed Niall’s wrist, tugging him back. “It’s not his fault, Ni,” Louis said. “And how did you even know I’m here?” Louis asked, addressing Liam who still looked as if he was faced with an army instead of Niall. Liam cleared his throat and once again rubbed the back of his neck.  
  
“Zayn came banging on our door this morning. He looked proper mad too. Harry got most of the yelling though,” Liam explained.  
  
Louis was tempted to ask how did  _Zayn_  even know to connect the dots between Louis being hospitalised to Harry being the reason he was fired. But then he chose not to. It was Zayn they were talking about here. He was like a satellite or something, always knowing all the latest news. People talked to him about everything.  
  
He felt his heart expanded, knowing how much his friends cared for him, even the typically indifferent Zayn. “Well, you really shouldn’t have come. It’s not your fault.” Liam smiled at Louis’ words, kind and warm, the sides of his eyes crinkling slightly. He however still looked guilty.  
  
“I apologise on behalf of Harry as well. He’s not usually such a…”  
  
“A dick?” Niall supplied helpfully, earning a light chuckle from Liam. Louis noted the way a blush crept up onto Niall’s face and how he quickly looked away from the boy. He kept that knowledge in his mind so that he could tease Niall later.  
  
“Yeah… that. He’s really quite nice. Just a bit…”  
  
“Spoilt?” It was Louis’ turn to interrupt, raising his eyebrows. Liam shrugged at that, not exactly denying Louis’ claim. Louis shook his head and rolled his eyes for good measure. “Well, apology accepted, I guess. Although I’m fairly certain that he doesn’t even know that you’re here right now.” The deer caught in the headlight look on Liam’s face was enough for Louis to know that he was right. “Whatever. Water under the bridge and all that shit. Just wish I won’t have to see him again,” Louis said for the umpteenth time and he really did mean it.  
  
He really wished he wouldn't see the curly haired boy again. The only reason he didn't make a fuss last night was because he didn't want to get Paul in trouble. If he happened to come across the boy again, there was no telling what he would do.  
  
If Niall could be violent with his threats, Louis could be worse with his actions and it wasn't something that he wanted to test.


	5. Chapter 5

“No, tell mum she doesn’t need to come over here. I’m fine, really,” Louis said into the phone rolling his eyes. He could almost picture Jay panicking back in Doncaster. He had half a mind to yell at Niall for telling his family about his short hospital stay. The Irish blonde knew how much the Tomlinsons overreact over things.  
  
 _“She’s worried,”_  Lottie replied. Louis could hear the sound of his mum saying something to Lottie and his younger sister sighing, and he could imagine her rolling her eyes at whatever their mother was saying.  _“And she also said that she wants to see this Harry person.”_  Louis was definitely going to yell at Niall. Why did he have to go and tell his mother about Harry?  _“Who’s Harry, anyway?”_  Lottie asked, obviously curious.  
  
“He’s no one important. Please, tell mum not to come. Besides, don’t you have your school dance this weekend?” He tried to change the subject, the thought of his mother coming over and demanding to see Harry was not something that he wanted to see becoming reality.  
  
He lied back on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He had been released from the hospital yesterday and there were bottles of energy drink littering the floor next to his bed. A few of them empty, one still half-filled and the rest were still unopened. Louis wanted to throw up at the thought of chugging more of the drink.  
  
The fruit basket Liam brought over during his visit sat on Louis’ study desk, the only fruits left in there was an apple and a few bananas. Niall was super militant about Louis finishing all the fruits in there, saying,  _“it’ll be a waste if these fruits get rotten. It’s not good to waste food,”_  as he cut the fruits in little cubes.  
  
Louis was certain that the only reason Niall was so obsessed with those fruits was because it came from Liam. He also was certain that Niall had somehow developed a crush on the other boy from the brief visit. He hadn’t stopped talking about Liam and how he looked like a ‘nice bloke’. Louis suspected that Niall had stalked Zayn these past couple of days just so he could get a hold of Liam’s number, which was quite surprising since Louis hadn’t seen Niall been worked up over anyone before. There must be something Niall saw in Liam that made him act the way he did.  
  
 _“Yeah, but I don’t mind missing it to see you. I miss you,”_  said Lottie, pulling Louis from his thought. At her words, Louis felt his throat constricting. Lottie’s voice was open and honest and Louis really missed his family. He wasn’t even able to go home for Christmas last year due to his financial issue.  
  
“I miss you too. But really, you guys don’t need to come. I’m fine. I’m a Tomlinson, ain’t I?” He tried to lighten the mood. There was a silence on the other line for a few seconds before his sister let out a sigh. He smiled a little, playing with the loose thread at the hem of his hoodie. “Anyway, you still haven’t sent me the picture of your dress. I’m sure Tylor Jackson will fall head over heels for you.”  
  
There was another silence on the line and Louis could detect that there was something that his sister was not telling him. “Lottie…”  
  
 _“You’d already seen the dress,”_  she mumbled. Louis frowned at that, trying to remember if Lottie did send him the picture but nothing came to mind. He twirled the drawstring of his trackie with the fingers of his free hand that was not holding the phone. _“Gonna wear the same dress I wore last year.”_  Her voice was quieter as she said the last part and Louis had to strain his ear to listen to her words.  
  
When what she said finally sank in, Louis shut his mouth, feeling something tugging at his heart and it wasn’t pleasant. He recalled how excited she was a few months ago when she told him about the dance and when Tyler Jackson had asked her to be his date. She had gushed to him about the dress she saw at the store on the way to school and she was going to be the most beautiful girl at the dance.  
  
“What? Why?” Louis asked.  
  
 _“It’s alright, really. I mean, I take sewing lessons now. I can alter the dress and no one’s gonna know I’d worn it last year. I can still fit in it, can you imagine? I told you I haven’t gained weight.”_  
  
Louis could tell that she was just trying to sound cheerful for his sake. He knew how much this kind of occasion meant for a teenage girl her age. Wearing a recycled dress would be a social suicide for her high school life and that wasn’t what Louis wanted for his sister. He suddenly felt like such a loser brother for not being able to give this one simple thing for his sister. He knew how much that night would mean for her.  
  
Louis himself wasn’t keen on his own school dance. But that was mostly because he was openly gay and none of the boys in his school would want to take him and besides, he had to babysit his sisters while their mother was working the night shift. He wouldn’t let anything take this memory from Lottie, though. His sister deserved everything in the world and more.  
  
“You’re gonna get a new dress and I bet it’ll be a pretty one,” he finally said, his tone resolute.  
  
 _“Louis…”_  she started to protest but he cut her off.  
  
“You  _will_  be the most beautiful girl at the dance, Lottie. I give you my words.”  
  
And he left no room for argument.  
  
-  
  
“Thank you so much, El. I owe you one,” Louis said into the phone as Eleanor chuckled lightly. She wished him good luck before the both of them hung up the call.  
  
Louis pocketed his phone into his jeans and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself from his nerves that had gone haywire since this afternoon.  
  
He was standing at the front porch of a luxurious, high-end condominium building. He checked again the address Eleanor had sent him to make sure that he was at the right place.  
  
As if an angel had finally granted his prayer, just as soon as he finished talking with Lottie the day before, Eleanor called him to ask him if he was interested in a job. It wasn’t anything fancy and definitely not a permanent job. It was just a babysitting job but it was enough for Louis. He could use the money he would get from this to buy Lottie a new dress.  
  
He pressed on the buzzer and waited for someone to let him in. _“Yes?”_  a woman’s voice came out from the intercom a few seconds later. “I’m Louis. Uh… the babysitter? Eleanor told me to come.” After a few more seconds, he was buzzed in.  
  
He entered the complex with an awestruck look on his face. The building was already grand on the outside but on the inside, he felt like he was in a completely different world. The floor was polished perfectly that he could clearly see his own reflection looking back at him as he walked. There was a massive chandelier hanging on the ceiling at the lobby, directly below it was a round table with a big vase of flowers sat on top of it. The interior decorations were in gold and maroon, somehow reminding Louis of the colour of Gryffindor colours in the Harry Potter series.  
  
Louis got into the lift and pressed the button to the 17th floor, the metallic door closing after a few seconds. Even the interior of the lift made Louis realise how different his world was from the occupants of this building. There was a mahogany railing along the walls of the room that were made of mirror glass to give an illusion that the small box space was bigger than it actually was. Under his feet, the floor was carpeted with a burgundy carpet that looked as if it was replaced every week since there was not a speck of dust on it. He wished his dirty Vans wouldn’t leave any dirt on it.  
  
He really felt out of place in here and it was just the lift!  
  
When he reached his floor, Louis tentatively stepped out and looked at the rows of doors along the corridor. He walked slowly, looking for a door marked with  _17C2_  which he found not too long after. Taking deep breaths a few times to root himself back to reality, Louis finally lifted up his hand to press the doorbell.  
  
He shifted from foot to foot restlessly as he waited for someone to open the door for him. It took a couple of minutes before he heard a sound on the other side of the door before it swung open. Louis prepared himself with a smile, wanting to charm his employer right from the start.  
  
However, the smile fell from his lips as soon as he saw Harry standing on the other side of the door. “Fuck,” Louis muttered under his breath, cursing the fate. He wondered what had he done in his past life that Harry Styles was sent into his life to torment him.  
  
It was just one night. One night of almost-one-night-stand and Louis still couldn’t get away from the smirking curly haired boy in front of him.  
  
Harry cocked his eyebrows at Louis questioningly as he leaned against the door frame. Louis used the extended silence as an advantage to properly give Harry a look over. He looked really good in black suits and Louis wanted to kick himself at the head for letting his thought to even go there.  
  
As if he was able to read Louis’ mind, Harry’s smirk grow bigger and Louis rolled his eyes, immediately reminded of what a dick Harry could be. “Harry?” someone called and a moment later, a woman came into Louis’ line of vision.  
  
She was wearing a beautiful Caribbean blue ball gown with matching high heels. Her multi-coloured hair was done in a beautiful up-do. She beamed as she saw Louis and pushed Harry lightly aside to let Louis in. “So you’re Eleanor’s friend?” she asked. Louis nodded.  
  
“Yeah, she said you need a babysitter and here I am. You don’t have to worry, Mrs. Teasdale. I used to babysit my sisters all the time. Your child will definitely be safe in my care,” he said with a smile he had perfected over the years to charm any potential employers.  
  
“Lou, just call me Lou and I have no doubt about it, love. Eleanor seems to think highly of you so I’ll trust her,” she replied, warm and kind.  
  
As he got further into the flat, Louis was surprised to see that it looked very comfortable and homey, very unlike the lobby where everything was intimidating and too rich-looking. The living room was slightly cluttered with toys and hairstyle magazines were littering the small coffee table. The sofa set looked very comfortable and the big plasma TV was turned on to a cooking channel. There were several photo frames hanging on the wall and Louis noticed Harry was present in quite a few of the pictures.  
  
“Why can’t I stay and babysit her, though? That way, you don’t have to leave her with a stranger.” Harry’s voice stopped Louis from his inspection.  
  
Harry just smirked at Louis and he had to fight the urge to stalk over to where Curly was standing and kick him right at the crotch. Why was he so dead-set on taking Louis off his source of income? Lou fussed with her hair before she turned to give Harry a warning look.  
  
“And risking your mother skinning me alive? No, thank you. You have to go to the gala. It’s an important event for your family and your appearance…”  
  
“I’ll just be paraded around like a fool.” Louis wanted to laugh at the obvious whine on Harry’s voice but he didn’t dare in case Lou would change her mind and he would lose the money for his sister’s dress.  
  
“Your appearance is compulsory because you’ll meet the potential clients and investors. Now, buckle up and let’s go,” the woman said as if she hadn’t been interrupted. Louis might have loved Lou a little just merely from the fact that she was able to make Harry looked like a kicked puppy with just a few sentences. She then addressed Louis. “So I’d put Lux to bed so she’ll be okay. If she wakes up, it’s either because she’s hungry or she just wants someone beside her but she’s not the kind of kid that makes a huge fuss. You’ll be okay. If there’s any emergency, all the numbers are on the fridge. And call me if there’s anything, anything at all. There are snacks in the kitchen, you can eat them if you want and drink anything you want from the fridge… you’re legal right?” Louis nodded.  
  
“I’m twenty one. But I don’t drink on the job, so don’t worry,” he replied, not quite believing his luck. Lou Teasdale was one hell of a woman and Louis wouldn’t mind babysitting for her again in the future if she was this cool, Harry Styles be damned.  
  
After a few more instructions which were easy to follow, Lou dragged Harry towards the front door and Louis followed them. “We’ll be back in a few hours,” she said finally.  
  
“Have fun,” Louis said as they walked out through the door, giving a genuine smile towards Lou and a mocking smirk at Harry who looked as if he was ready to murder Louis right on the spot. Louis just watched gleefully as Lou tugged insistently on Harry’s arm and pulled the curly haired boy towards the lift.  
  
Louis didn’t feel so bad anymore as he kept playing the look of utter dejection on Harry’s face over and over again in his mind.


End file.
